Pelham Town Administrator Tom Gaydos, on leave since Jan. 9, resigns

PELHAM -- Tom Gaydos, Pelham's 11-year town administrator who has been on administrative leave since Jan. 9, officially resigned Friday.

Selectmen made the announcement before Friday night's School Deliberative Session.

The board's only comment was, "Tom Gaydos resigned," and no reason was offered.

Police Chief Joe Roark will remain the acting managing indefinitely.

Meeting in emergency session behind closed doors on Jan. 9, selectmen placed Gaydos on administrative leave. The board appointed Roark as acting town administrator until further notice.

"Chief Roark was appointed acting administrator because he is the most senior department manager in town," said Selectmen Chairman Ed Gleason in January. "The chief also has a highly qualified and experienced staff in the Police Department, including Lt. Gary Fisher, or Lt. Brian McCarthy, who are quite capable of stepping forward to help out."

Officials did not disclose why Gaydos was placed on leave or whether the leave was paid.

Gaydos, 56, was hired as town administrator in July 2002, having worked previously for many years in the New Hampshire towns of Ashland and Ossipee. Gaydos is a native of Middlebury, Vt., and graduate of Bentley College, where he majored in accounting and public administration.

Most recently, Gaydos worked closely with Fire Chief James Midgley and the architect and builders of the town's new $3.9 million fire station, which opened last April on the Village Green.

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Gaydos also consulted frequently with New Hampshire Department of Transportation officials to provide selectmen with regular updates on the state's dual-roundabouts construction project on Marsh Road.

The most turbulent time in Gaydos' Pelham tenure surrounded his arrest on Jan. 21, 2010, on two charges of simple assault following a domestic incident at his home in Manchester that involved a 50-year-old woman who lived at the same address. The woman claimed Gaydos had kicked her in the chest, screamed at her, prevented her from leaving the bedroom, took her cellphone and pushed her twice, Manchester police Lt. Peter Bartlett reported.

After Gaydos' arrest, then-Selectmen Chairman Bob Haverty, speaking on behalf of the board, noted that the allegations against the town administrator were "not job-related, and do not involve the town or other town personnel."

At the time, several Pelham Message Board posters expressed their approval of the selectmen's decision to view Gaydos' domestic difficulties as separate from his professional duties, and to allow him to continue with his duties.

"Mr. Gaydos has worked for us for awhile now. He has a difficult job, and I think he does it well," posted resident Michael Grant in January 2010. I support Mr. Gaydos."